Abstract
The subject of this study was to describe how home-based care to terminally ill cancer patients was established in a rural setting. A central question was what kind of qualifications among the caregivers was available and how the service was organized. The study was performed as interviewes of twelve nurses. The results show that the nurses mostly are working alone in a difficult and challenging field. The care is not organized as a multidisiplinary teamwork. The nurses can call for the GP doctor when it is needed, which mainly is for ordination of painmedications. In the nurses opinion, the doctors found little interest in the patients. Their knowledge about pain and controll of symptoms is very often poor. Very often, it is the nurses who diagnose the patients pain or other symptoms and suggest the medication. Additionally, more emphasis are needed on education related to pain management and the use of available guidelines on management of pain related to cancer. The conclusion emphasises two factors: Satisfactory terminal home care can be achieved, but it presupposes effective support and symptom control. The second factor is that the terminal home care should be organised in teams.